Paul Biegler
- Published in print:
- 2011
- Published Online:
- August 2013
- ISBN:
- 9780262015493
- eISBN:
- 9780262295628
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- The MIT Press
- DOI:
- 10.7551/mitpress/9780262015493.003.0005
- Subject:
- Philosophy, Philosophy of Mind
This chapter focuses on how the impairment of autonomy in depressed patients can be addressed by two validated treatments, namely, cognitive behavior therapy (CBT) and antidepressant medication ...
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This chapter focuses on how the impairment of autonomy in depressed patients can be addressed by two validated treatments, namely, cognitive behavior therapy (CBT) and antidepressant medication (ADM). Both treatments deal with negative information-processing biases but in different ways. CBT counters negative biases by requiring the individual to understand the action of negative biases; ADM, on the other hand, requires no such comprehension. Negative affect, even when occurring in depression, retains utility in that it helps mark events of material significance. A person treated with CBT can better identify significant events and more accurately assess them through a residual appraisal function left by depression. Although ADM limits the amplitude of negative affective swings, CBT promotes the autonomy of the depressed person to a greater extent than does treatment with ADM alone.Less
This chapter focuses on how the impairment of autonomy in depressed patients can be addressed by two validated treatments, namely, cognitive behavior therapy (CBT) and antidepressant medication (ADM). Both treatments deal with negative information-processing biases but in different ways. CBT counters negative biases by requiring the individual to understand the action of negative biases; ADM, on the other hand, requires no such comprehension. Negative affect, even when occurring in depression, retains utility in that it helps mark events of material significance. A person treated with CBT can better identify significant events and more accurately assess them through a residual appraisal function left by depression. Although ADM limits the amplitude of negative affective swings, CBT promotes the autonomy of the depressed person to a greater extent than does treatment with ADM alone.
